Control of chamber combustion and operation of a guided-vane rotary internal combustion engine

ABSTRACT

A guided-vane rotary internal combustion engine including a plurality of working chambers which are separated from one another by way of vane assemblies which rotate with a rotor assembly about an axis employs a rotor assembly having a plurality of sectors wherein each sector is associated with a corresponding working chamber and a plurality of spark plugs wherein each spark plug is mounted within a corresponding sector for igniting an air/fuel mixture contained within a corresponding working chamber. A rotor disk is mounted upon the rotor assembly for rotation therewith and acts as a distributor through which energizing charges are conducted to the spark plugs. In addition, a controller is utilized for selectively activating or de-activating the working chambers of the engine upon the occurrence of a predetermined event.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to guided-vane rotary apparatusutilized as an internal combustion engine and relates, moreparticularly, to means and methods for igniting the air/fuel mixturewithin and for controlling the operation of the working chambers of theapparatus.

Guided-vane rotary apparatus with which this invention is concernedinclude a rotor which rotates within the interior of a housing and vaneswhich are associated with the rotor and housing for dividing the housinginterior into working chambers. Commonly, the vanes are mounted withinthe rotor and adapted to slide relative thereto between alternativeradial positions as the rotor is rotated within the housing. Whenemployed as an internal combustion engine, the engine operates on thesame four-cycle Otto thermodynamic principle common to a piston engine,but the thermodynamic operation of the guided-vane rotary engine isreferred to as cycles, rather than strokes, as the guided-vane rotaryengine has no pistons utilizing reciprocating strokes. Furthermore, theengine completes its four cycles of operation in one full revolution,i.e. 360 degrees, of the rotor output shaft. An example of a guide-vanerotary apparatus of the aforedescribed class is shown and described inU.S. Pat. No. 5,634,783, having the same inventor as the instantapplication.

In order to enhance the efficiency of a guided-vane rotary apparatus ofthe aforedescribed class, it would be desirable that the workingchambers of the apparatus be effectively sealed from one another toprevent a leakage or flow of the working gases or fluid contained in onechamber of the apparatus to another chamber of the apparatus. In otherwords, when such leakage is permitted, any pumping efficiency oreffectiveness of the apparatus as a positive displacement machine isimpaired. However, current designs have not proven to be entirelysatisfactory in this respect, and when the designs of such guided-vanerotary apparatus have involved a spark plug mounted within an outer wallof the housing interior, some degree of flow communication is commonlypermitted between adjacent chambers of the apparatus as each vane of theapparatus moves past the spark plug.

Furthermore and for purposes of conserving fuel being utilized by such aguided-vane rotary engine or reducing the exhaust emissions of theengine, it would be desirable to provide a scheme of engine operationwhereby all of the working chambers of the engine are utilized only whenfull operating power of the engine is desired, and less-than-all of thechambers are utilized when less-than-all of the operating power of theengine is desired.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a newand improved guided-vane rotary internal combustion engine whosestructure reduces the likelihood of flow communication between workingchambers of the apparatus during the operation of the engine.

Another object of the present invention is to provide such an enginehaving an improved scheme for sealing the working chambers of the enginefrom one another.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide such anengine wherein the disposition of its spark plug therein reduces thelikelihood of flow communication between working chambers of the engine.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide such an enginehaving a rotor body within which the engine spark plug is mounted and anattending arrangement for energizing the spark plug.

A further object of the present invention is to provide such an enginehaving a new and improved scheme for control of the utilization of theworking chambers of the engine.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide such anengine whose working chambers can be selectively activated orde-activated and an associated controller to effect this purpose.

A yet still further object of the present invention to provide such anengine which is adaptable to selective chamber operation whereby only aselected number of working chambers are permitted to operate in responseto changing power demands.

One more object of the present invention is to provide such an enginewhich is uncomplicated in structure, yet effective in operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention resides in a guided-vane rotary internal combustionengine including a housing including a body having an interior opening,a rotor assembly which is mounted within the housing opening forrotation therein about an axis, and a plurality of radially-extendingvane assemblies arranged about the rotor assembly for movement radiallyinwardly or outwardly with respect to the rotation axis in conjunctionwith the rotation of the rotor assembly within the opening of thehousing body and wherein the vane assemblies separate the interioropening of the housing into a plurality of working chambers within whichan air/fuel mixture can be introduced during an intake cycle, compressedduring a compression cycle, ignited during a combustion phase, orperiod, expanded during an expansion cycle and exhausted during anexhaust cycle during each revolution of the rotor assembly.

In one embodiment of the invention, the improvement is characterized inthat the rotor assembly includes a plurality of sectors wherein eachsector is disposed between adjacent pairs of vane assemblies arrangedabout the rotor assembly and each sector includes a body having aradially-outwardly facing outer surface, and the engine includes aplurality of spark plugs wherein each spark plug is mounted within theradially outwardly-facing surface of a corresponding sector for ignitingan air/fuel mixture contained within the corresponding working chamber.In addition, means are connected to the spark plugs for energizing thespark plugs.

In another embodiment of the invention, the means for energizingincludes a high voltage feed-through member which is mounted in astationary relationship with respect to the housing body and throughwhich an energizing charge for igniting the spark plug is transmitted,and the engine includes a rotor disk which rotates about the rotationaxis with the rotor assembly and includes a side face. The means forenergizing further includes a plurality of ignition wires havingportions which are arranged along the side face of the rotor disk fordelivering an energizing charge to the spark plug and which are disposedin such a relationship to the high voltage feed-through so that as thedisk rotates with the rotor assembly, energizing charges are transmittedby way of the high voltage feed-through to the ignition wires forenergizing the spark plug.

In a further embodiment of the invention, the engine includes means forselectively activating or de-activating the working chambers of theengine upon the occurrence of a predetermined event so that the enginecontinues to operate with either all or less than all of the workingchambers being activated.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an internal combustion engine withinwhich features of the present invention are embodied.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken about along line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the housing block, rotor sectors andvanes of the FIG. 1 engine, shown exploded.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of various components of the FIG. 1 engine,shown exploded.

FIG. 5 is a view which illustrates schematically a longitudinal crosssection of the FIG. 1 engine wherein the cross section is taken aboutalong line 5-5 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is a front elevation view of an exemplary vane and pair oflinkage assemblies of the FIG. 1 engine, shown exploded.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation view of the FIG. 6 vane and linkage assembly,as viewed from the right in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view, similar to that of FIG. 5,of some of the engine components depicted in FIG. 5, but shown exploded.

FIG. 9 is a portion of the FIG. 5 view taken about along line 9-9 ofFIG. 5, but drawn to a slightly larger scale.

FIG. 10 is a view, similar to that of FIG. 9, of the components of FIG.9, but shown exploded.

FIG. 11 is an elevation view of the sealing ring depicted in FIGS. 9 and10, as seen generally from the right in FIGS. 9 and 10.

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken about along lines12-12 of FIG. 5 depicting the relationship between one rotor disk andthe high voltage feed-through member of the FIG. 1 engine.

FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the FIG. 1 engine whichillustrates in block diagram form the interconnection between variouscomponents of the engine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENT

Turning now to the drawings in greater detail, there is shown in FIGS. 1and 2 an internal combustion engine, generally indicated 18, withinwhich features of the present invention are embodied. The engine 18 is aguided vane-type rotary apparatus including means providing an outerhousing 19, a housing block 20 mounted within the outer housing 19,means providing a rotor, or rotor assembly, 22 mounted within thehousing block 20 for rotation about an axis 24, a plurality of vanes, orvane assemblies, 26 which, with the rotor 22 and housing block 20,divide the interior, indicated 28, of the housing block 20 into aplurality of working chambers 40 a-40 f. In the depicted engine 18, thevane assemblies 26 are slidably mounted within the rotor 22 for slidingmovement relative thereto and toward and away from the axis 24 inconjunction with the rotation of the rotor 22 within the housing 20.

As will be apparent herein, the engine 18 includes a plurality of sparkplugs 96 for igniting an air/fuel mixture directed into the workingchambers of the engine 18, and these spark plugs 96 are advantageouslymounted within the rotor 22 of the engine 18, rather than within thehousing block 20. Moreover, the engine 18 includes an arrangement,generally indicated 250 in FIGS. 1 and 2, of conductors through which anenergizing charge is transmitted from an ignition controller 252(FIG. 1) for purposes of energizing, or firing, the spark plugs 96.Furthermore, the engine 18 includes a control unit, generally indicated300 in FIG. 13, for controlling the operation of the engine 18 throughthe selective activation or de-activation of the working chambers of theengine 18. Such a control unit 300 is advantageous in that it permits,when desired, engine fuel to be conserved and engine exhaust to bereduced, for example, when power output demands of the engine 18 arereduced.

As best shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the housing block 20 of the depictedengine 18 has an outer shape which resembles a rectangular prism and hasan inner opening 31 of substantially elliptical cross-section whichextends between opposite side faces, indicated 34 and 36, of the block20. In addition, there are provided passageways 33, 35 and 37 whichextend between the bottom surface, indicated 38 in FIG. 2, and theopening 31 which provide, respectively, an air/fuel inlet passageway, aspark plug access opening, and an exhaust passageway. In addition, ahollow inner cavity 39 is provided in the housing block 20 so as tosubstantially encircle the opening 31 and coolant passageways 41, 43which extend between the bottom surface 38 and the cavity 39 to permitcoolant to be circulated through the cavity 39.

With reference again to FIGS. 1 and 2, the outer housing 19 includes aplurality of end plates 44, a top plate 46, a bottom plate 48 andsidewall plates 50, 52 which are fixedly connected to the end surfacesof the housing block 20 and to one another by way of screws 54 (FIG. 1)and corner members 56 (best shown in FIG. 2) so that when assembled, theouter housing 19 substantially encloses the housing block 20. Inaddition, a manifold assembly 58 is securely joined to the bottom plate48 of the outer housing 19 and embodies ports 60, 62, 64 and 66 whichare joined in flow communication, respectively, with the coolantpassageway 41, the air/fuel inlet passageway 33, the exhaust passageway37 and the coolant passageway 43 of the housing block 20.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the interior 28 of the housing 20accepts the rotor 22 directed endwise therein and is enclosed at theside faces 34, 36 thereof by way of a pair of rotor discs 70 a, 70 bpositioned adjacent the side faces 34, 36. Meanwhile, the rotor 22,along with the vane assemblies 26, are sandwiched between the rotordiscs 70 a, 70 b. It follows that the walls of the opening 31 providethe sidewalls of the housing interior 28 within which the rotor 22 ispositioned. Furthermore, each side face 34 or 36 of the housing block 20defines a shallow groove 72 of substantially rectangular cross sectionand a sealing-accepting recess 74 which encircles the mouth of theopening 31. Each of the groove 72 and recess 74 is endless in that eachis continuous about the opening 31 and follows a substantiallyelliptical, i.e. non-circular, path thereabout, and the purposes of thegroove 72 and recess 74 will be apparent herein.

During operation of the depicted engine 18 and with reference again toFIG. 2, the rotor 22 is intended to rotate within the housing block 20in a clockwise direction about the axis 24. This being the case and asthe cycles of the internal combustion process of the engine 18 arecarried out within the housing interior 28, an air/fuel mixture ispermitted to enter the interior 28 by way of the manifold port 62, andthe products of combustion are permitted to exit the interior 28 by wayof the manifold port 64. Meanwhile, the engine 18 is cooled with coolantrouted through the cavity 39 by way of the manifold ports 60 and 66.

With reference to FIGS. 4, 5 and 8, the rotor 22 includes a somewhatspool-shaped assembly 76 including a pair of shaft-bearing flanges 78having a shaft 29, a flange portion 79, the pair of circular rotor disks70 a, 70 b (introduced earlier), and a plurality of, i.e. six, centralhub sectors 82 which are regularly spaced about the axis 24. Each shaftflange 78 and disk 70 a or 70 b is fixedly joined, as with bolts 84, toa corresponding end of the sectors 82 so that these joined elements mustrotate together as a single unit with no relative movement therebetween.When mounted within the housing 20, the center of mass of this unitaryrotor assembly 76 is located along the rotation axis 24, and the shafts29 extend through a central opening 80 (FIG. 1) of the housing sidewallplates 50, 52. When extending through the sidewall plate openings 80 inthis manner, the shafts 29 support the rotor 22 for rotation about theaxis 24, as well as transmit rotational forces from the rotor 22. Ananti-friction bearing, such as a ball bearing 88, is retainablypositioned between the surfaces of the shaft 29 and the sidewall plateopening 80 disposed on each side of the engine 18 by way of a flange 86which is tightly positioned about the bearing 88 and mounted upon acorresponding sidewall 50 or 52 (with bolts 85) to facilitate therotation of the rotor 22 relative to the housing block 20.

With reference still to FIG. 4, each hub sector 82 is shaped to somewhatresemble a truncated sector of a right circular cylinder having anoutwardly-directed surface 89 (comprised of rounded, or arcuate-shaped,edge portions 92 and substantially flat portions 90 disposed centrallyof the edge portions 92), and an inwardly-directed surface 93. Inaddition, each sector 82 is attached at its ends to the rotor disks 70a, 70 b (e.g. with bolts 84) so that each sector 82 is maintained in aspaced relationship with its adjacent sector 82. The spacing, indicated94 in FIGS. 2 and 4, provided between adjacent sectors 82 provides aslot within which a corresponding vane assembly 26 is slidablypositioned. The arcuate-shaped portion 92 of the outwardly-directedsurface 89 of each sector 82 is shaped to provide a relatively closeoperating proximity with the walls of the housing interior 28 as thesector 82 passes through various cycles (i.e. compression and exhaustcycles) of the housing interior 28. Furthermore and as will be describedin greater detail herein, it is within the substantially flat portion 90of the outwardly-directed surface 89 of each hub sector 82 that a sparkplug 96 is mounted in order to ignite the air/fuel mixture when the hubsector 82 passes through the combustion phase, or period, of the enginecycle.

With reference still to FIG. 4, each rotor disk 70 a or 70 b includes aninterior face 98 which is provided with a series of grooves 100 whichextend radially across the disk face 98 from the center thereof. In thedepicted embodiment 18, there are six radially-extending grooves 100,and the opening of each groove 100 is aligned with (i.e. in registrywith) a corresponding space 94 provided between adjacent sectors 82.During rotation of the rotor 22 within the housing interior 28, thesegrooves 100 provide guide tracks along which the vane assemblies 26 areguided as each vane assembly 26 is shifted radially of the rotor 22.

With reference to FIGS. 4-7, each vane assembly 26 (only three shown inFIG. 4) includes a vane body 27 which is generally platen-like in shape,is sized to be slidably accepted by a corresponding spacing 94 providedbetween each pair of adjacent sectors 82, and includes an outwardmosttip edge 102. Also included in each vane assembly 26 is a vane tip seal118 and a bias spring 120 which are positioned within an elongatedgroove 116 which extends along the length of the tip edge 102 of thevane body 27. During rotation of the rotor 22 within the housinginterior 28, it is the outermost edge of the vane tip seal 118 whichacts as the outer edge of the vane assembly 26 and slidably moves inengagement with the walls of the housing opening 31 to maintain aneffective seal therebetween.

With reference again to FIG. 2, the vane assemblies 26, in conjunctionwith the surfaces 89 of the rotor sectors 82, divide the housinginterior 28 into six working chambers 40 a-40 f. Due to the non-circularwalls of the interior 28, the chambers vary in volume through a singlerevolution of the rotor 22 about the axis 24. It will be appreciatedthat as the rotor 22 is rotated relative to the housing 20 about theaxis 24 in a clockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 2, an air/fuelmixture which enters the housing interior 28 through the intake port 62(and subsequently becomes trapped within a chamber), is subsequentlycompressed as the vane assemblies 26 (whose vane tip seal 118 slidablymoves along the walls of the housing 28) are rotated by the rotor 22toward an uppermost (i.e. top dead center) location, indicated 25 inFIG. 2, where combustion occurs. Within the depicted engine 18, the topdead center location 25 corresponds with the location within the housinginterior 28 at which each working chamber attains its minimum volume atthe end of its compression cycle. As the chambers continue to be rotatedalong the right side, as viewed in FIG. 2, of the interior 28, the shapeof the chambers accommodate the expansion and subsequent exhaust cyclesof the engine operation. It follows that the four cycles of operation ofthe engine 18 (each of which occurs during a single revolution of therotor 22) include the intake, compression, expansion (power-generating)and exhaust cycles, and these four cycles are repeated, in sequence, asthe rotor 22 rotates about the axis 24.

The engine 18 also includes means, generally indicated 30 in FIG. 4, forcoordinating the radial movement of the vane assemblies 26 with therotation of the rotor 22 about the axis 24. In this regard, the methodby which the vane assemblies 26 are moved radially of the rotor 22 byway of the coordinating means 30 is well known so that a more detaileddescription is not believed to be necessary. Suffice it to say that thecoordinating means 30 of the engine 18 includes a plurality of linkageassemblies 104 interposed between the vane assemblies 26 and the grooves72 (FIG. 4) provided in the side faces 34, 36 of the housing block, orbody, 20, and each linkage assembly 104 (only five shown in FIG. 4)includes a camming, i.e. cam follower, element 105 which is accepted bythe groove 72 (FIGS. 3 and 5) provided in a side face 34 or 36 of thehousing block 20 for sliding movement therealong. With the cammingelements 105 positioned, and thereby captured, within the groove 72 inthis manner, rotation of the rotor 22 about the axis 24 effects theforced shift of vane assemblies 26 radially of the rotor 22.

For a more complete description of the coordinating means 30 with whichthe radial movement of the vane assemblies 26 is coordinated with therotation of the rotor 22 about the axis 24, reference can be had to theearlier-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,783, the disclosure of which isincorporated herein by reference.

It follows that as the rotor 22 is rotated about the axis 24, the vaneassemblies 26, which are captured within the rotor spaces 94 and thedisk grooves 100 must rotate about the axis 24 as well. Because theslidable cam follower elements 105 of the linkage assemblies 104 arecaptured within the elliptical cam grooves 72 for sliding movementtherealong and must consequently shift toward and away from the axis 24during a single revolution of the rotor 22 about the axis 24 inaccordance with the shape of the elliptical path of the groove 72, thevanes 26 must shift toward and away from the rotation axis 24 during asingle revolution of the rotor 22 about the axis 24. It also follows thevane tip seals 118 of the vane assemblies 26 are maintained inengagement with the walls of the housing interior 28 as the linkageassemblies 104 maintain a fixed spacing between the outermost edges ofthe vane tip seals 118 and the grooves 72. Moreover, the vane body 27 ofeach vane assembly 26 is sized so that when shifted to its radiallyoutwardmost position during a revolution of the rotor 22, a portion ofeach vane body 27 remains captured within the rotor spacing 94.

With reference to FIGS. 5 and 9-11, the seal-accepting recess 74provided in the housing block 20 accepts a seal assembly 200 intended toreduce the likelihood of flow communication between adjacent workingchambers of the housing interior 28 and between the working chambers andthe running clearance formed between the housing interior 28 and thedisk face 98. In this connection, the seal assembly 200 (best shown inFIGS. 9 and 10) includes an elliptically-shaped sealing ring 202 whichis positioned within the recess 74 and biasing means, generallyindicated 204, for urging the sealing ring 202 outwardly of the recess74 and against the interior face 98 of the adjacent rotor disk 70 a or70 b wherein the disk face 98 is co-planar with the inner surface,indicated 122, of the bar portion 108 of the linkage assembly 104.Within the depicted engine 18, the biasing means 204 is in the form of awave spring 220 which is disposed between the bottom surface 206 of therecess 74 and the rear face 218 of the sealing ring 202.

Further still and as mentioned earlier and with reference to FIGS. 2, 4and 8, a spark plug 96 is mounted within the substantially flat portion90 of the outwardly-directed surface 89 of each of the six hub sectors82 of the rotor 22 so that each working chamber of the housing interior28 is provided with a spark plug 96 for purposes of igniting theair/fuel mixture contained within the working chamber as the chamberpasses near the top dead center location 25 (FIG. 2) of the engine 18.As used herein, the top dead center location 25 can be further definedas the point along the minor axis of the elliptically-shaped inneropening 31 of the engine 18 at which the volume of each working chamberattains its minimum size as each working chamber transitions from itscompression cycle to its expansion cycle.

By mounting the spark plugs 96 within the rotor hub sectors 82, ratherthan within the (outer) wall of the housing interior 28, there is nodisruption of the outer wall of the housing interior 28 to accommodatethe mounting of a spark plug therein and thereby greatly improves thesealing of the working chambers at the outer edges of the vane tip seals118. This also provides a more desirable location for the spark forigniting the air/fuel mixture as the spark location is moved more towardthe center of the combustion chamber volume and away from the quenchingsurfaces of the outer wall of the housing interior 28.

Briefly and as best shown in FIG. 8, each spark plug 96 has a hex-shapedhead 97, and a body 95 which is externally-threaded for threadedacceptance by an internally-threaded opening disposed substantiallycentrally of the flat surface portion 90 of the corresponding sector 82.Each spark plug 96 has two electrodes, i.e. a high voltage and a ground,which extend from its exterior outwardly-directed hex face into theworking chamber for ignition of the air/fuel mixture contained therein.Furthermore, the spark plug body 95 has a central opening suitable for ahigh voltage and is constructed of high temperature-rated materials. Thehigh voltage electrode is fixed within the center of a centrally-mountedinsulator material of the plug 96, while the high voltage electrodeextends inwardly of a corresponding hub sector 82 and toward therotational axis 24 where it makes electrical contact with the end 272 ofan ignition wire 270 which, in turn, is coated with a high voltage-ratedinsulation. The space around and near the regions of each hub sector 82(and disposed within the interior of the hub sector 82) contacted by thehigh voltage electrode of the plug 96 is fitted with a high dielectricmaterial to prevent high voltage arc-over to the body of the hub sector82.

Access to each spark plug 96, for the purpose of removal or replacement,can be had by way of the access passageway 35, best shown in FIG. 2. Inthis connection, a threaded plug 240 (FIG. 2) is threadably removed fromthe entrance of, to thereby open, the passageway 35, and the rotor 22 isrotated about the axis 24, as necessary, to position the spark plug 96(i.e. the one desired to be removed or replaced) in vertical registrywith the passageway 35 (FIG. 2). With the desired spark plug 96positioned in vertical registry with the passageway 35 in this manner,the spark plug 96 can be removed with an appropriate tool directedthrough the passageway 35.

During the course of engine operation (and during which full poweroutput of the engine 18 is desired), the spark plugs 96 are energized ina desired sequence and, for example, when each working chamber of theengine 18 approaches near the top dead center location 25 (e.g. duringthe compression cycle of a working chamber). In other words, each sparkplug 96 is intended to ignite the air/fuel mixture contained within thecorresponding chamber as the chamber approaches the uppermost, or topdead center location 25, as viewed in FIG. 2, of the housing interior28. As will be apparent herein, it is a feature of the present inventionthat the engine 18 includes an arrangement, generally indicated 250, ofconductors (introduced earlier) which extends between each spark plug 96and an ignition controller 252 (FIGS. 1 and 8) for communicating a highvoltage ignition charge from an external ignition coil 253 to each sparkplug 96 in a sequential fashion and in a desired timing pattern as therotor 22 rotates during engine operation.

In connection with the foregoing and with reference to FIG. 8, there isprovided within each rotor sector 82 an access passageway 254 whichextends substantially axially of the body of the sector 82 from theterminal end of the spark plug 96 and opens out of one side face,indicated 256, of the sector 82, and there is provided within the disk70 a (disposed adjacent the sector side face 256) a plurality ofopenings 258 (FIG. 8) which are each aligned with a correspondingpassage 254 opening out of the sector side faces 256. In addition, thedisk 70 a defines an exterior face, indicated 99 in FIG. 8, situated onthe side of the disk 70 a opposite the sector side faces 256.Furthermore, a high voltage feed-through member 264 having an electrode,or electrode tip, 266 and an opposite terminal 268 is fixedly positioned(i.e. threaded) within the top plate 46 of the depicted outer enginehousing 19 so that the electrode tip 266 extends into the interior ofthe outer housing 19.

It will be understood that within the depicted engine 18, each sparkplug 96 (six in total) mounted within the engine rotor 22 rotatestogether with the hub sectors 82 and the disk 70. On the other hand, theengine 18 includes only one high voltage feed through member 264 whoseelectrode tip 266 remains in a stationary position within the outerhousing 19. Moreover, the high voltage electrode 266 of the high voltagefeed through member 264, which (within the depicted engine 18) isfixedly mounted upon the engine top plate 46, is mounted centrally ofthe body of the member 264 and extends inwardly of the engine 18 for areason which will be apparent herein.

With reference to FIGS. 8 and 12, the conductor arrangement 250 includesa series of (i.e. six) elongated and insulated ignition wires 270wherein each wire member 270 has a portion 271 which extends axiallyalong a sector passageway 254 and is connected at its end 272 to theterminal end of the corresponding spark plug 96 and has another portion274 which is arranged so as to extend radially along the exterior face99 and has an end 273 which is disposed adjacent the outer periphery ofthe disk 70 a. Inasmuch as the portion 271 of each wire 270 extendssubstantially axially of the rotor 22 while the portion 274 of each wire270 extends substantially radially of the disk face 99, wire-acceptinggrooves 277 are provided within the flange 78 (which is secured inabutting relationship with the disk face 99) for accepting andmaintaining a gently curving, right-angle bend of each wire 270 at anelbow.

Furthermore, there is associated with each wire end 273 a contact block275 which is mounted against the disk face 99 adjacent the peripherythereof. Each contact block 275 is constructed of a electricallyinsulating material, and each contact block 275 supports anarcuately-formed conductive segment 276 situated adjacent andelectrically connected to the wire portion end 273 and which extendsalong an arcuate path across a radially outwardly-directed surfacedefined by, for example, the bottom of a groove formed along, thecorresponding contact block 275 (and at a constant radius from therotation axis 24) so that as the disk 70 a of FIGS. 8 and 12 rotatespast the high voltage feed-through member 264 to a rotational positionabout the axis 24 at which each segment 276 passes the electrode 266 ofthe feed-through member 264, the spark plug 96 is energized by theignition controller 252 (by way of the high voltage feed-through member264) and thereby ignites the air/fuel mixture contained within a workingchamber of the engine 18. Preferably, the arcuately-formed conductivesegments 276 are regularly-arranged in a spaced relationship around theouter side face 99 of the FIG. 12 disk 70 a.

As an alternative to the foregoing, the high voltage feed-through member264 can be fixedly mounted at an alternative location along the topplate 46 (or other plates of the engine 18) as long as its electrode 266is capable of making electrical connection to each insulated highvoltage ignition wire 270 mounted internally of the engine 18. Thus,placement of the high voltage feed-through member 264 is adaptable inlocation for the sake of convenience (e.g. for accessibility-relatedreasons) rather than having to be fixed at any one location along thetop plate 46. For example and if desired, an intermediate ignition wire(not shown) can be interposed between the center electrode 266 of thehigh voltage feed-through member 264) mounted remote of, for example,the top plate 46 and an alternative high voltage member, i.e. anelectrode holder (not shown), having an associated electrode fixedlypositioned within the interior of the outer housing 19 and arranged soas to align with the top dead center location 25 at which the electricalcharge from the high voltage member and associated electrode istransmitted to the ignition wire 270.

The ignition controller 252, including an ignition coil 253, is mountedexternally of the engine 18, and its high voltage terminal iselectrically connected (by way of an insulated conductor 280) to theterminal 268 of the high voltage feed-through member 264 mounted withinthe top plate 46. Thus, the controller 252, high voltage feed-throughmember 264, and conductor wires 270 act as a rotating high voltageignition distributor for the engine 18. If desired, a magneto-type coil(of known construction) can be used in place of the ignition coil 253.

The aforedescribed arrangement of the conductive segments 276 along thedisk outer side face 99 is advantageous in that it permits the timing ofthe spark plug firings to be altered with respect to the rotationalposition of the working chambers of the housing interior 28 in relationto the uppermost, or top dead center, location 25 (FIG. 2). In otherwords, if it is desired to fire each spark plug 96 at a preselectedposition relative to the top dead center location 25 (e.g. in advance ofthe position at which each spark plug 96 is disposed at the top deadcenter location 25), the ignition controller 252 can be pre-set, orpre-programmed, to transmit a high voltage charge from the feed-throughmember 264 to each conductive segment 276 at a preselected locationtherealong as each segment 276 passes beneath the electrode tip 266during rotation of the rotor 22 about the axis 24. Thus, theaforedescribed conductor arrangement 250 facilitates an adjustment inthe timing of the spark plug firings and is advantageous in thisrespect.

For a detailed discussion of additional features, such those whichrelate to sealing, lubricating and cooling features, of an engine whichare adaptable to the depicted engine 18, reference can be had to myearlier U.S. Pat. No. 5,634,783, the disclosure of which is incorporatedherein by reference.

It follows from the foregoing that the aforedescribed mounting of thespark plugs 96 within the rotor 22, rather than within the housing block20, is advantageous in that it positions each spark plug in a region ofthe working chamber adjacent the outwardly-facing surface 89 of thecorresponding rotor sector 82. These rotor-mounted plugs 96 obviate anydisruption of the wall of the housing opening 31 (which would otherwisebe required if the plugs were mounted along the wall of the housingopening 31) and thereby greatly improves upon the sealing capacity ofthe vane tip seal 118 as the vane tip seal 118 moves along the wall ofthe housing opening 31. This also provides a more desirable location forthe spark to ignite the air/fuel mixture, since the spark location ismoved more toward the center of the combustion chamber volume, and awayfrom the quenching surfaces of the chamber walls.

It also follows that the aforedescribed conductor arrangement 250 of theengine 18 provides a suitable ignition system for delivering, whendesired, energizing charges to the spark plugs 96 for igniting theair/fuel mixture confined within the working chambers of the engine 18.In this connection, the rotor 70 a operates as a rotating ignitiondistributor for communicating external ignition coil high voltage energythrough the high voltage feed-through 264, into the engine 18, arcacross a small air gap to a contact block 275, to an ignition wire 270,to a spark plug 96 mounted in a hub sector 82 for ignition of theair/fuel mixture confined within a corresponding working chamber of theengine 18.

With reference to FIG. 13, it is also a feature of the engine 18 thatthe engine control unit 300 is adapted to selectively activate orde-activate working chambers of the engine upon the occurrence of apredetermined event so that the engine 18 continues to operate witheither all or less than all of the working chambers undergoingcombustion (or firing) during revolutions of the rotor 22 about therotation axis 24. Such a feature is advantageous in that it permits thepower output of the engine 18 to be altered in the event that loads uponthe engine 18 are altered. For example, in instances in which full poweroutput is not always needed at all times, one or more of the workingchambers can be de-activated by the control unit 300 to thereby conservefuel and reduce exhaust emissions.

In the interests of the present invention, a working chamber of theengine 18 is activated when the chamber is utilized for generatingengine power. More specifically and within the engine 18, a chamber isactivated when an air/fuel mixture is delivered to the working chamberduring its intake cycle and subsequently ignited, or fired, just priorto the expansion (or power) cycle or during the combustion phase of arevolution of the rotor 22 for the production of power. By comparison, aworking chamber is de-activated when it is not used to contribute to theengine power output. In other words, a working chamber is de-activatedwhen steps are taken by the control means 300 to prevent that workingchamber from contributing to the engine power output. Within thedepicted engine 18 and as will be apparent herein, such de-activationsteps include the prevention of an introduction of fuel (or an air/fuelmixture) into the working chamber during the intake cycle and theattending prevention of the firing of the spark plug 96 associated withthe working chamber desired to be de-activated.

In connection with the foregoing, there is illustrated in FIG. 13 aschematic cross-sectional view of the engine 18 which depicts, in blockdiagram form, exemplary componentry which can be used in conjunctionwith the engine control unit 300 for controlling the activation andde-activation of the working chambers of the engine 18. Furthermore, theengine control unit 300 includes an electrically-operated microcomputerwhich has been pre-programmed with information relating to the desiredoperating characteristics of the engine under pre-selected conditions.For example, the microcomputer can be pre-programmed with informationwhich relates to one or more threshold characteristics of engineoperation indicative of a condition (or conditions) at which the outputpower of the engine 18 can be reduced (e.g. from the total number ofworking chambers of the engine 18) through the de-activation of at leastone working chamber or indicative of a condition (or conditions) atwhich the output power of the engine should be advantageously increased(i.e. from a number of working chambers which is fewer than the totalnumber of working chambers) through the activation of at least oneadditional working chamber of the engine 18.

Meanwhile, there is provided a passageway 306 through which a air/fuelmixture is conducted to the intake manifold port 62 (FIG. 1) foracceptance by each working chamber of the engine 18 which is in flowcommunication with the interior of the passageway 306 as the workingchamber passes through its intake cycle of rotor revolution, and athrottle plate 308 is movably mounted within the passageway 306 formovement between alternative positions within the passageway 306 forcontrolling the flow of air therethrough. Moreover, the engine 18 alsoincludes an assortment of sensors (described herein) used to supplyinput (i.e. feedback information) to the control unit 300 for purposesof determining whether, for example, an earlier-mentioned thresholdcharacteristic of engine operation is achieved.

For example, the engine 18 can include a rotor position sensor 310mounted adjacent the rotor 22 for monitoring (through known techniques)the real-time position of the rotor 22 about the axis 24. This monitoredinformation can be used by the control unit 300 to, for example, adjustthe engine timing for fuel and ignition or to determine the rotationalspeed of the engine output shaft 29. When the speed of the output shaft29 is increased, the number of active chambers could be reduced tothereby reduce the speed of the output shaft 29. Conversely, when thespeed of the output shaft 29 is decreased, the number of active chamberscould be increased to thereby increase the speed of the output shaft 29.

The engine 18 can also include a manifold pressure sensor 312 mountedadjacent the passageway 306 for monitoring the pressure of the intakestream disposed downstream of the throttle plate 308 which is, in turn,indicative of engine load. As the manifold pressure is increased, thenumber of active chambers can be advantageously increased, and as themanifold pressure is decreased, the number of active chambers can beadvantageously decreased.

In addition, a throttle position sensor 314 can be mounted adjacent thepassageway 306 and connected to the throttle plate 308 for monitoringthe position of the throttle plate 308 (between, for example, fullyopened and fully closed conditions) and is indicative of the demands ofa user of the engine 18. As the position of the throttle plate 308 isaltered to accelerate the engine 18, the number of active chambers ofthe engine 18 can, for example, be increased, and as the position of thethrottle plate 308 is altered to decelerate the engine 18, the number ofactive chambers of the engine 18 can, for example, be decreased.

Furthermore, a mass air flow sensor 316 can be mounted within thepassageway 306 (and disposed between an air cleaner 318 and the throttleplate 308) for monitoring the rate of the air flow conducted through thepassageway 306 and toward the chambers. If the mass air flow sensor 316detects an increase in the rate of the air flow moving through thepassageway 306, the number of active chambers can, for example, beadvantageously increased, and if the mass air flow sensor 316 detects adecrease in the rate of air flow moving through the passageway 306, thenumber of active chambers can, for example, be advantageously decreased.

Meanwhile, the engine 18 includes an electronic fuel injector 320mounted adjacent the passageway 306 (and situated downstream of thethrottle plate 308) for injecting, upon demand, fuel into the air movingthrough the passageway 306. The fuel injector 320 is connected to thecontrol unit 300 for receiving operating commands therefrom. In otherwords, once the control unit 300 (by way of its microcontroller)determines how many and which ones of the working chambers are to beadvantageously activated (while others are de-activated), thenappropriate command signals are sent to the fuel injector 320 so thatonly the activated chambers are fueled during the combustion phase ofthe chambers to be activated. Therefore and from a functionalstandpoint, the control unit 300 prevents fueling of any chamber desiredto be de-activated.

With reference still to FIG. 13, the ignition controller 252 isappropriately wired to the control unit 300 for receiving commandstherefrom which relate to the firing of the activated chambers. In otherwords, once the control unit 300 (by way of its microcontroller)determines how many and which ones of the working chambers are to beadvantageously activated (while others are de-activated), thenappropriate command signals are sent to the ignition controller 252 sothat only the activated chambers are fired during the combustion phaseof the chambers to be activated. Therefore and from a functionalstandpoint, the control unit 300 prevents ignition of any spark plug 96associated with a de-activated working chamber.

It will be understood that the above-mentioned sensors 310, 312, 314 and316 are examples of sensors which can be utilized within the engine 18for supplying information to the control unit 300 indicative of thereal-time operating characteristics of the engine 18. Upon receiving themonitored information from the sensors, the control unit 300 candetermine whether more, less, or the same number of working chambersshould be utilized, and based upon that determination, control theactivation or de-activation of the chambers by way of the fuel injector320 and the ignition control 252. For example, upon receiving input fromthe sensors 310, 312, 314 or 316 indicative of a corresponding operatingcharacteristic of the engine, that input is compared, by way of acomparison circuit 324 to a corresponding threshold characteristic(pre-programmed into the microcontroller) to determine whether or notthe number of activated working chambers should be altered. Upondetermining that any (or additional) chambers should be de-activated,then appropriate commands are delivered to both the fuel injector 320 toshut off the introduction of fuel to the working chamber (or chambers)desired to be de-activated and to the ignition control unit 252 toprevent the subsequent firing of any spark plug associated with theworking chamber (or chambers) desired to be de-activated. It alsofollows that the control unit 300 coordinates the introduction of fuelto an activated chamber with the firing (by way of the ignitioncontroller 252) of that activated chamber so that only the activatedchambers receive fuel and are ultimately fired during the samerevolution of the rotor 22.

It also follows from the foregoing that an engine 18 has been describedwhich is capable of operating in a selective displacement mode wherebyindividual chambers are provided fuel and ignition (for combustion andpower output) on an as-needed basis for providing adequate powerrequired by the engine load. Thus, control over the activation orde-activation of the working chambers is had through the control overthe fuel introduced to and subsequent ignition of those chambers.Operating characteristics of the engine 18 (which characteristics canrelate to load and/or engine rpm) are monitored, and informationrelating to those monitored characteristics are used to determine whichand whether some of the working chambers can be de-activated or whichand whether additional working chambers should be activated.Furthermore, the control unit 300 can determine which of the workingchambers should be selectively activated or de-activated for providing abalanced firing of the activated chambers for the purpose ofadvantageous balancing of the engine 18. In addition, the control unit300 can employ algorithms to predict or determine the active chamberselection based upon past and current operating performance.

It will be understood that numerous modifications and substitutions canbe had to the aforedescribed embodiment 18 without departing from thespirit of the invention. For example, there exists several factorspertaining to the present invention that can be manipulated according tothe specific functional objectives to be met, and these factors willgreatly influence the operating characteristics and suitability of theengine to a particular purpose. Such factors include housing cavityshape, number of vanes or chambers, and placement, size, shape andnumber of inlet and outlet port openings. Thus, it will be appreciatedthat the spirit, scope, and fundamental structure of the invention willnot be diminished due to the choice of these and other factors for aparticular use. Accordingly, the embodiment 18 is intended for thepurpose of illustration and not as limitation.

1. In a guided-vane rotary internal combustion engine including ahousing including a body having an interior opening, a rotor assemblywhich is mounted within the housing opening for rotation therein aboutan axis, and a plurality of vane assemblies arranged about the rotorassembly for movement radially inwardly or outwardly with respect to therotation axis in conjunction with the rotation of the rotor assemblywithin the opening of the housing body and wherein the vane assembliesseparate the interior opening of the housing into a plurality of workingchambers within which an air/fuel mixture can be introduced during anintake cycle, compressed during a compression cycle, ignited during acombustion phase, expanded during an expansion cycle and exhaustedduring an exhaust cycle during each revolution of the rotor assembly,the improvement characterized in that: the rotor assembly includes aplurality of sectors wherein each sector is disposed between adjacentpairs of vane assemblies arranged about the rotor assembly and eachsector includes a body having a radially-outwardly facing outer surface,and a plurality of spark plugs wherein each spark plug is mounted withinthe radially outwardly-facing surface of a corresponding sector forigniting an air/fuel mixture introduced within the corresponding workingchamber; and means connected to the spark plugs for energizing the sparkplugs.
 2. The engine as defined in claim 1 wherein the body of eachsector includes an opening which opens out of the outwardly-facingsurface thereof, and each spark plug has a body which is securelyaccepted by the opening of a corresponding sector body.
 3. The engine asdefined in claim 2 wherein the body of each sector includes a passagewaywhich extends substantially axially of the sector body and whichcommunicates with the spark plug-accepting opening of the sector body,and the means for energizing the spark plugs includes an ignition wirehaving a conducting portion which is arranged within theaxially-extending passageway for delivering an energizing charge to thespark plug which is securely accepted by the spark plug-acceptingopening of the corresponding sector body.
 4. The engine as defined inclaim 3 wherein there is associated with the rotor assembly a diskdisposed outboard of the housing opening and adapted to rotate with therotor assembly, and the means for energizing the spark plugs includes aplurality of ignition wires wherein each ignition wire includes theconducting portion which is arranged within the axially-extendingpassageway of a corresponding sector and another portion which extendssubstantially radially along the disk with respect to the rotation axis;and the means for energizing includes a high voltage member having anassociated electrode through which energizing charges for igniting thespark plugs are conducted, and so that as the disk rotates with therotor assembly, charges for energizing the spark plugs are deliveredthereto by way of the electrode associated with the high voltage memberand the ignition wires.
 5. The engine as defined in claim 4 furthercomprising a plurality of contact blocks which are mounted upon the diskand wherein each contact block is disposed adjacent the another portionof a corresponding ignition wire and is arranged in such a positionalrelationship to the electrode associated with the high voltage member sothat as the disk is rotated with the rotor assembly, the energizingcharges are transmitted from the electrode associated with the highvoltage member to the ignition wires.
 6. The engine as defined in claim1 further including means disposed external of the housing body andassociated with the connected means for energizing the spark plugs in apreselected sequence.
 7. The engine as defined in claim 6 furtherincluding one rotor disk which rotates about the rotation axis with therotor assembly, and the one rotor disk includes a side face, and whereinthe connected means includes a plurality of ignition wires wherein eachignition wire includes a portion which extends substantially axiallythrough the body of a corresponding sector to the spark plug mountedtherein and another portion which extends radially along the side faceof the one rotor disk for cooperating with the energizing means forpurposes of energizing the spark plugs.
 8. The engine as defined inclaim 7 wherein the another portions of the ignition wires are regularlyarranged along the side face of the one rotor disk, and the means forenergizing the spark plugs includes a high voltage member having anassociated electrode through which an energizing charge is transmittedto the another portions of the ignition wires as said another portionsof the ignition wires rotate with the rotor assembly during engineoperation.
 9. The engine as defined in claim 8 wherein the connectedmeans includes a plurality of conductive segments wherein eachconductive segment is arranged along an arcuate path which extendsacross the side face of the one rotor disk for transmission of anenergizing charge from the electrode associated with the high voltagemember to another portion of a corresponding ignition wire at any pointalong the arcuate path at which the conductive segment passes theelectrode associated with the high voltage member as the one rotor diskis rotated during engine operation.
 10. The engine as defined in claim 9wherein each spark plug has a terminal, and the body of each sector ofthe rotor assembly includes an interior passageway which extendssubstantially axially of the sector body for providing access to theterminal of the spark plug mounted within the corresponding sector body,and each ignition wire includes a portion which is positioned within acorresponding interior passageway of the sector body so as to extendsubstantially axially of the sector body to the terminal of thecorresponding spark plug.
 11. The engine as defined in claim 10 whereinthe one rotor disk includes an outer periphery and the engine furthercomprises a plurality of contact blocks mounted upon the side face ofthe one rotor disk adjacent the outer periphery thereof and regularlyarranged thereabout, and each conductive segment is mounted upon acorresponding contact block so as to extend in an arcuate path along thecontact block and is electrically connected to said another portion of acorresponding ignition wire.
 12. The engine as defined in claim 1further comprising means for selectively activating or de-activating theoperation of a working chamber of the engine upon the occurrence of apredetermined event.
 13. The engine as defined in claim 12 wherein themeans for selectively activating or de-activating includes means forselectively permitting or shutting off the flow of fuel to the workingchambers.
 14. In a guided-vane rotary internal combustion engineincluding a housing including a body having an interior opening, a rotorassembly which is mounted within the housing opening for rotationtherein about an axis, and a plurality of vane assemblies arranged aboutthe rotor assembly for movement radially inwardly or outwardly withrespect to the rotation axis in conjunction with the rotation of therotor assembly within the opening of the housing body and wherein thevane assemblies separate the interior opening of the housing into aplurality of working chambers within which an air/fuel mixture can beintroduced during an intake cycle, compressed during a compressioncycle, ignited during a combustion phase, expanded during an expansioncycle and exhausted during an exhaust cycle during each revolution ofthe rotor assembly, a spark plug for igniting an air/fuel mixture withina working chamber during a combustion phase and means for energizing thespark plug, the improvement characterized in that: the means forenergizing includes a high voltage member having an associated electrodethrough which an energizing charge for energizing the spark plug istransmitted; a rotor disk which rotates about the rotation axis with therotor assembly and includes a side face; a plurality of ignition wireshaving portions which are arranged along the side face of the rotor diskfor delivering an energizing charge to the spark plug and which aredisposed in such a relationship to the electrode associated with thehigh voltage member so that as the disk rotates with the rotor assembly,energizing charges are transmitted by way of the electrode associatedwith the high voltage member to the ignition wires for energizing thespark plug.
 15. In a guided-vane rotary internal combustion engineincluding a housing including a body having an interior opening, a rotorassembly which is mounted within the housing opening for rotationtherein about an axis, and a plurality of vane assemblies arranged aboutthe rotor assembly for movement radially inwardly or outwardly withrespect to the rotation axis in conjunction with the rotation of therotor assembly within the opening of the housing body and wherein thevane assemblies separate the interior opening of the housing into aplurality of working chambers within which an air/fuel mixture can beintroduced during an intake cycle, compressed during a compressioncycle, ignited during a combustion phase, expanded during an expansioncycle and exhausted during an exhaust cycle during each revolution ofthe rotor assembly, the improvement comprising: the rotor assemblyincludes a plurality of sectors wherein each sector is disposed betweenadjacent pairs of vane assemblies arranged about the rotor assembly andeach sector includes a body having a radially-outwardly facing outersurface, and a plurality of spark plugs wherein each spark plug ismounted within the radially outwardly-facing surface of a correspondingsector for igniting an air/fuel mixture contained within a correspondingworking chamber; means connected to the spark plugs for energizing thespark plugs; and means for selectively activating or de-activating theoperation of a working chamber of the engine upon the occurrence of apredetermined event so that the engine continues to operate with all orless than all of the working chambers being activated.
 16. The engine asdefined in claim 15 wherein the means for selectively activating orde-activating includes means for selectively permitting or shutting offthe flow of fuel to a working chamber.
 17. The engine as defined inclaim 15 including a passageway through which fuel is conducted to aworking chamber during a fuel intake cycle of the engine rotor, and themeans for selectively activating or de-activating includes a throttleplate movably mounted within the conduit between one position at whichfuel is permitted to enter the working chamber during its fuel intakecycle and another position at which fuel is prevented from entering theworking chamber during its fuel intake cycle.
 18. The engine as definedin claim 16 wherein the means for selectively activating orde-activating includes means for selectively permitting or preventingthe transmission of an energizing charge to the spark plugs forselectively igniting the air/fuel mixture contained within a workingchamber desired to be activated or preventing the energizing of a sparkplug associated with a working chamber desired to be de-activated. 19.In a guided-vane rotary internal combustion engine including a housingincluding a body having an interior opening, a rotor assembly which ismounted within the housing opening for rotation therein about an axis,and a plurality of vane assemblies arranged about the rotor assembly formovement radially inwardly or outwardly with respect to the rotationaxis in conjunction with the rotation of the rotor assembly within theopening of the housing body and wherein the vane assemblies separate theinterior of the housing into a plurality of working chambers withinwhich an air/fuel mixture can be introduced during an intake cycle,compressed during a compression cycle, ignited during a combustionphase, expanded during its combustion phase and exhausted during anexhaust cycle during each revolution of the rotor assembly, a spark plugfor igniting an air/fuel mixture within a working chamber during itsexpansion cycle and means for energizing the spark plug, the improvementcomprising: means for selectively activating or de-activating theworking chambers of the engine upon the occurrence of a predeterminedevent so that the engine continues to operate with either all or lessthan all of the working chambers undergoing a power-producing cycleduring the rotation of the rotor about the rotation axis.
 20. The engineas defined in claim 19 wherein the means for selectively activating orde-activating includes means for shutting off the flow of fuel to aworking chamber desired to be de-activated.
 21. The engine as defined inclaim 20 further including a passageway through which fuel is introducedto the working chambers, and the means for shutting off includes meansfor preventing the flow of fuel into a working chamber desired to bede-activated by way of the passageway.
 22. The engine as defined inclaim 20 further including a passageway within which fuel is mixed withair to create an air/fuel mixture for delivery to the working chamberswherein each working chamber of the engine is in flow communication withthe passageway during each revolution of the rotor about the rotationaxis, and the means for shutting off the flow of fuel to a workingchamber desired to be de-activated includes means for preventing theflow of fuel into the passageway to thereby prevent the creation of anair/fuel mixture for use by the working chamber desired to bede-activated.
 23. The engine as defined in claim 20 wherein the meansfor selectively activating or de-activating includes means forprohibiting an energizing of a spark plug associated with a workingchamber desired to be de-activated.
 24. The engine as defined in claim19 wherein the means for selectively activating or de-activatingincludes means for monitoring at least one operating characteristic ofthe engine, comparing the monitored characteristic to a thresholdcharacteristic indicative of a condition at which the output power ofthe engine can be reduced through the de-activation of at least oneworking chamber of the engine, and initiating the de-activation of atleast one working chamber when the monitored operating characteristicreaches the threshold characteristic.